Chapter 450: 446. I Really Am Very Rich (Please subscribe, monthly tickets!)

Zhang Ran was stunned upon hearing this, then looked at the two of them and asked tentatively, "Brother-in-law?"

"Don't listen to this old fellow's nonsense, he's been old for a long time." Fei Lan gave the old man a reproachful glare, and the old man just gave a sheepish smile.

"You really haven't changed much after all these years," Fei Lan said, holding Zhang Ran's hand, her tone filled with deep emotion.

Zhang Ran sighed, "A lot of things have happened in between."

"Don't just stand here, let's go inside. We siblings should have a good chat today; it's rare that you were able to find your way here." Fei Lan's smile was very gentle.

Zhang Ran followed along, but seeing the old man hadn't moved, he said, "Brother-in-law, aren't you coming with us?"

"You two go ahead and chat, what is there for me to talk to you about? I still have to watch the gate," the old man said, appearing impatient.

However, his tone was actually quite mild, lacking the stiff quality it had at the beginning.

Zhang Ran didn't press him further and walked along with his eldest sister, chatting as they went.

"Is this young lady your daughter, Eldest Sister?" Zhang Ran asked with a smile.

Fei Lan shook her head and said, "No, your brother-in-law and I don't have any children. Xiao Yi is a volunteer; she helps us with a lot of things."

Zhang Ran fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then said to the young girl, "Xiao Yi, right? Hello."

Xiao Yi nodded, looking a bit shy, "Hello."

As they walked along the path, Zhang Ran also saw the children here, but after just a few glances, he felt a bit uneasy in his heart.

Just from what he could see, not a single one of these children was physically healthy; it wasn't like the orphanage he was in before, where although they were all without parents, they were basically physically healthy.

Seeing Zhang Ran's gaze, Fei Lan sighed, "These children are pitiful. They all have some sort of physical ailment, and many orphanages won't take them. I couldn't bear to watch, so I reopened this orphanage; it counts as barely giving them a place to shelter from the wind and rain."

As she spoke, she sat down with Zhang Ran under a tree, watching some volunteers playing with the children while they chatted.

Seeing there was nothing for her to do, Xiao Yi left to go look after the children.

"Xiao Yi and these children are all good kids. They came without asking for a cent in wages and often subsidize this place. Honestly, I really feel sorry for them," Fei Lan said with emotion.

Zhang Ran asked, "Are there no social donations here?"

Given the situation here, not to mention government funding, shouldn't there be quite a few social donations?

Fei Lan shook her head and said, "No. I haven't done any publicity; it wouldn't be fair to the children. It would hurt their already sensitive hearts."

Zhang Ran was silent; this really was his eldest sister's style.

"Eldest Sister, how have you been all these years?" Zhang Ran changed the subject. As for the money, he would talk about it later; he also needed to take a good look at exactly how much money was needed here.

It would likely be very difficult to get his eldest sister to open her mouth and ask him for it; he would just have to give it himself.

Fei Lan smiled and said, "How else could I be? I feel pretty good, anyway. It's just that when the director passed away, I didn't get a chance to see her off."

After saying this, the eldest sister's mood also sank.

"When did the director pass away?" Zhang Ran had already guessed this outcome; after all, the director wasn't young back then, and if she were alive today, she would probably be nearly ninety.

"She passed away eight years ago. I only found out about it afterward. The director left on her own after she had settled all of us back then. She didn't tell anyone where she was going or where she was, as she was afraid of troubling us," Fei Lan said.

Zhang Ran nodded; the director never liked to trouble others.

"What about you all these years? How have you been?" Fei Lan asked.

Zhang Ran smiled, "I've been doing alright. I'm a big Rich Man now, very wealthy, so of course I've been doing well."

He was laying the groundwork for giving the money later.

"I knew you were a kid with potential; you had potential back then, too, and helped us a great deal," Fei Lan also smiled.

However, Zhang Ran was stunned, "Back then?"

It was true that after Zhang Ran earned money back then, he helped the orphanage quite a bit with donations, supplies, and so on.

But he had always donated anonymously. If he had donated under his real name at the time, given the director's personality, she absolutely wouldn't have let him donate. As long as the director could hold on for one more day, she wouldn't trouble the children of the orphanage.

Fei Lan smiled and said, "Don't tell me you really thought you did it flawlessly?"

"Isn't that the case? I remember I never showed my face back then; I always had people help me donate." Zhang Ran didn't deny it at this point.

"At first, the director and I really didn't think it was you, kid. But every time there was a donation, you would come back to visit, every single time.

Plus, once the director made a few inquiries here, the people you sent over also said it straight out—it wasn't him who donated, it was someone else. That should have been easy to guess, right?" Fei Lan said with a smug smile.

Zhang Ran had been very clever since he was little and had his own ideas about doing things; many things couldn't be hidden from him.

Now that she could 'expose' the thing he was so proud of, Fei Lan still felt a bit smug.

Zhang Ran laughed in spite of himself, "I still underestimated the director."

"Sigh, the director was actually at her wit's end back then. If it hadn't been for your donations, the orphanage would have folded years earlier. But even so, it didn't last many more years," Fei Lan sighed.

Only then did Zhang Ran realize; no wonder the director accepted it after finding out it was him—the director really couldn't hold on anymore at that time.

Zhang Ran said, "It's my fault for not noticing; otherwise..."

Fei Lan smiled and stopped him, saying, "You absolutely must not think that way. Back then, the director actually felt quite sorry for you, letting you shoulder such great pressure at such a young age.

And actually, it was for the best that it disbanded back then. Most of us were properly settled, and the director could be more at ease and didn't have to toil so hard anymore."

Zhang Ran remained silent. He wasn't dwelling on it, just sighing in his heart.

Zhang Ran said, "Since we've already brought this up, I won't beat around the bush. Eldest Sister, I plan to donate some money and supplies, and I'll have people come over to help the children get a medical checkup.

If they can be treated, I will be responsible for the medical expenses in full."

Fei Lan said, "You certainly should donate money, since you said yourself that you're already a rich man. But you don't need to donate too much; just a token amount will do. Don't let it interfere with your own affairs, and don't make things difficult for yourself."

She was also afraid that if Zhang Ran donated too much, it would cause him difficulties and lead to conflicts in his family, which wouldn't be good.

Zhang Ran smiled, "Eldest Sister, do you really think I'm joking with you? I am truly very rich now; I have more money than I can ever spend."